Biz Buzz: Learning center gets A+ from Idaho Falls Chamber
Maggie’s Place recognized as small business of the year in Idaho Falls
IDAHO FALLS – Maggie’s Place in Idaho Falls was awarded the small business of the year earlier this month during the fifth annual Business of Distinction Awards Gala.
Members of the community sent in their nominations for the award. Lois Mackes, the program and events manager for the chamber, tells East Idaho News they received a total of 60 nominations this year. Maggie’s Place was given this distinction because it had the most nominations.
“We were humbled and honored to win the award this year,” Maggie’s Place Owner and Managing Director Sheryl Gittings says. “It’s remarkable to me to have won within four years of opening but also that people think of us in that way, that we’re more than what we do everyday. It was really nice.”
Maggie’s Place is a learning center offering after school care, home school, enrichment classes and academic tutoring. The after school program is for students K-6 and provides homework help, curriculum and snacks. Enrichment classes give students an opportunity to learn and practice new skills. One of the classes Maggie’s Place currently teaches is a robotics workshop. Academic tutoring is available to students of all ages, including college students.
Gittings says she moved from California to Idaho Falls in 2015 because she saw a great need for these kinds of services.
“There was a need for kids to (have something productive to) do after school, so we got started with our enrichment center, which was originally in downtown. We started offering extracurricular classes in the afternoon.”
As more students started enrolling, Gittings noticed parents were looking for additional help in math and science for their kids.
“We started with tutoring and brought on 10 students right away.”
The need for more services continued to grow. Gittings decided to move the learning center to its current location on Pancheri Drive last year.
“We have 120 families we serve every day. They need that service and we’re able to provide it for them at a reasonable cost. The relationships with these families is one of the things I enjoy most,” Gittings says.
Seeing progress in the lives of her students is something else Gittings enjoys.
Maggie’s Place Learning Center is located at 3000 Pancheri Dr., Ste. B. Its hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, but the after school program and other components are primarily in the afternoon and evening. Saturday tutoring is available by appointment only.
Maggie’s Place also has a Pocatello location at 348 W. Clark Street.
To learn more, visit the learning center’s website. Maggie’s Place can be reached by phone at (208) 502-1112.
https://www.eastidahonews.com/2018/11/biz-buzz-learning-center-gets-a-from-idaho-falls-chamber